My best friend has a son who is autistic. Their autism society worker is like family, and she was diagnosed with breast cancer not long ago. She completed her surgery and now has to have radiation, but she is fearful. We invited her over today so I could give her a pep talk and some helpful hints to get through it. (I had it in 2010.) She also asked if drinking tea would help improve her health and prevent a recurrence, so we talked about the benefits of antioxidants, flavonoids, and such in different teas and how they may possibly help. At the very least, replacing sugary drinks with unsweetened tea will help tons! Cancer loves sugar.

She drinks grocery store green tea, but I told her there are things she can actually ENJOY and not just choke down for the health benefits. This was the tea I chose to serve to her today since it has a lot of natural sweetness from the fruits and coconut, and it is so creamy and refreshing whether hot or cold.

The best part was when she said, “I could drink this every day!”

It really is a great tea and I love it especially in the summertime with all of the fruity flavors.
I may have to pick up more in a couple of months when I go to Ireland, but thankfully Gurman’s has fabulous customer service and offered quite a while back to ship orders to the US for us, even the teas that don’t appear on their website but that you know they have in store.

looseTman: We feel so fortunate that our friends have such a committed and reliable person to stay with their son, she goes above and beyond the call of duty all the time. And when I had breast cancer, I wondered if someday my experience might help someone else. Well, I hope it has now. We are going to make it through her diagnosis together! The army hospital is sending her to the same cancer center I went to for my radiation treatments, so I was able to give her lots of info. It is a really great facility and they offer lots of support, but sometimes you want someone you know and someone who has been through it, and I can be both for her.

A similar story for me that is opposite, I was the worker for a lady with autism and she had cancer. Spent 14 years with her and she was like my family. Many weeks I spent more hours of my life with her than with my “real” family. I can say there were no books, no literature, nothing on how to help a person with autism live with cancer, or how to die with cancer. I loved her so much, still do a double-take on the street at times when I glimpse someone who slightly resembles her.

Cwyn: I am so sorry for your loss! My son used to work with autistic children and he started a game night at the local coffee shop for autistic adults. Now he works in another town with mostly adults though I think they have one or two teens. He loves “his” folks and they all get attached to one another. What a blessing you to her! It is so rare to have the same autism assistant for a year or two, but for fourteen years!!! That is amazing! My son works for the creative living center so they have an art director on staff who helps the participants learn to draw and paint, and my son’s group takes them out to learn social skills and to volunteer for various charities like Meals On Wheels and 10,000 Villages. He loves his job!

looseTman: We feel so fortunate that our friends have such a committed and reliable person to stay with their son, she goes above and beyond the call of duty all the time. And when I had breast cancer, I wondered if someday my experience might help someone else. Well, I hope it has now. We are going to make it through her diagnosis together! The army hospital is sending her to the same cancer center I went to for my radiation treatments, so I was able to give her lots of info. It is a really great facility and they offer lots of support, but sometimes you want someone you know and someone who has been through it, and I can be both for her.

A similar story for me that is opposite, I was the worker for a lady with autism and she had cancer. Spent 14 years with her and she was like my family. Many weeks I spent more hours of my life with her than with my “real” family. I can say there were no books, no literature, nothing on how to help a person with autism live with cancer, or how to die with cancer. I loved her so much, still do a double-take on the street at times when I glimpse someone who slightly resembles her.

Cwyn: I am so sorry for your loss! My son used to work with autistic children and he started a game night at the local coffee shop for autistic adults. Now he works in another town with mostly adults though I think they have one or two teens. He loves “his” folks and they all get attached to one another. What a blessing you to her! It is so rare to have the same autism assistant for a year or two, but for fourteen years!!! That is amazing! My son works for the creative living center so they have an art director on staff who helps the participants learn to draw and paint, and my son’s group takes them out to learn social skills and to volunteer for various charities like Meals On Wheels and 10,000 Villages. He loves his job!

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I am a music teacher, tutor, and former homeschool mom (25 years!) who started drinking loose leaf tea about seven years ago! My daughters and I have tea every day, and we are frequently joined by my students or friends for “tea time.” Now my hubby joins us, too. His tastes have evolved from Tetley with milk and sugar to mostly unadorned greens and oolongs.

We have learned so much history, geography, and culture in this journey.